leverite

leverite
 n.— «Bartolotta demonstrated his panning technique by shaking a plastic container resembling a Chinese wok. He explained that by moving the pan, the lighter material is suspended in the soupy water of the stream bottom “so that heavier material such as gold sinks to the bottom.” “See that’s leverite,” he said, pointing to a tiny, nondescript stone in the pan. “Leave-‘er-right there because she ain’t worth nothing,” he said with a laugh.» —“The Spirit Of The Klondike Lives On The Sourdoughs Of Today Are Willing To Settle For A Speck, A Fleck Or A Flake” by George Foster Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Washington) July 14, 1997. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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Further reading

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